Meta platforms refuse third-party fact-checking in the US

Meta is ditching third-party fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram in the US and will replace it with X-style “community notes,” where comments about the accuracy of posts are left by users.

In the video posted next to it blog post The company said Tuesday that “it’s time to get back to our roots around free speech.”

Joel Kaplan, who replaces Sir Nick Clegg as Meta’s head of global affairs, wrote that the company’s push for independent moderators was “well-intentioned” but went too far.

“Too much innocuous content is being censored,” he wrote, adding that Meta “too often interferes with the freedom of expression we strive to provide.”

The transition to the community notes system will be phased in over the coming months in the US.

The system, which Meta says it’s “working on X,” sees people with different viewpoints agree on notes that add context or clarification to disputed posts.

The campaign’s blog post said it would also “undo the creeping mission” of regulations and policies – highlighting the lifting of restrictions on topics including “immigration, gender and gender identity” – saying they had shut down political discussion and debate.

“We are removing a number of restrictions on topics such as immigration, gender identity and gender, which are the subject of frequent political discussions and debates,” it said.

“It’s not right that things can be said on television or in Congress, but not on our platforms.”

The changes come as tech firms and their executives prepare for the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump has previously been a vocal critic of Meta and its approach to content moderation.

He called Facebook “the enemy of the people” in March 2024.

But relations between the two men have since improved – Mr Zuckerberg dined at the Trump estate in Florida in Mar-a-Lago in November.

“The recent election also marks a cultural tipping point in prioritizing freedom of speech again,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in a video on Tuesday.

Mr Kaplan’s replacement of Sir Nick Clegg – a former Lib Dem deputy prime minister – as the company’s president of global affairs was also interpreted by many analysts as signaling a shift in the firm’s approach to moderation and a shift in political priorities.

In a statement announcing he would step down on January 2, Sir Nick said his successor was “absolutely right for the right job at the right time”.